Jackson County Stabbing Murder

A Jackson County man is dead after an apparent altercation with a friend. Jackson County sheriff officials say the killing took place on Missouri Road in Marianna around 4 a.m. Thursday morning.

Forty-three-year-old Ricky Meredith is dead after being stabbed in the chest. Jackson County sheriff officials say his friend, Tommy Cochran is likely to blame.

They arrested Cochran shortly after arriving on the scene. He is now being charged with murder.

“I know both people involved and at this point there is no way to speculate, what. Ricky was paralyzed in part of his body. That makes me wonder about what's going on here and 'why a death?'” says Sheriff John McDaniel.

Investigators may not know the reasons for the killing, but they say they have recovered the murder weapon.

"I'm just surprised. This has always been a quiet neighborhood,” comments neighbor Allen Speights.

Some neighbors may be surprised, but they aren't shocked. Two people were killed and burned less than a block away last year. Investigators aren't saying much about a possible connection between Thursday’s murder and last April’s double murder, but they are not ruling out the possibility either.

Sheriff officials say a deliberate fire destroyed a lot of the evidence in last year's Missouri Road double homicide. But they say they should have more information soon on Thursday’s stabbing.

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